Let the right one in: Lehtonen The sons of bitches won again, beating the Edmonton Oilers 4-2 last night.
You can brag about it all. The special teams. The offensive prowess. The improved defense. The attitude, grit and fire.
Today, let's talk goaltending. Not enough is being made about Kari Lehtonen. Or, should we say, not enough is being made about GM Joe Nieuwendyk.
It was Feb. 10, 2010 when the Stars shipped young defenseman Ivan Vishnevskiy to Atlanta for Lehtonen. The big story here wasn't Lehtonen, but instead the eventual divorce from Marty Turco.
Everyone questioned Lehtonen's propencity for being injured. Or his ability. According to Nieuwendyk:
"I just believe he has so much potential if he is healthy, and all the indications that we have are that all of his problems have been taken care of."
Lehtonen couldn't made Nieuwendyk look any smarter. He's having a potentially career year. Already 21-10-5 and a 2.49 GAA (his career low is 2.79). The best goalie in the league not to pitch a shutout.
It helps being on a team with talent. Although the Stars were not a playoff team a year ago, there was too much talent, especially offensively, for this team to be that bad. It was assumed that a new goaltender and a stiffening blue line would turn the thing around.
That assumption was right. You can point to any one thing and argue that it's the key to the Stars' success. I think you start with Lehtonen.
Notes:
1. Stars are 4-0 with Jamie Langenbrunner on the ice.
2. The Stars have won eight straight on the road. They were 6-7-1 away from Dallas before this streak.
3. The Stars are 7-0-1 in January. That's 15 of 16 potential points.
4. Another nice Nieuwendyk find: Adam Burish. An understated cog.
5. Loui Eriksson's 10-game point streak ends. Mike Ribeiro's point streak hits 10.
6. I love Jamie Benn. How can you not?
